Okay, so I’ve been busy. But busy is good, especially since its because I love my new job and coworkers! Teaching 4th grade is a wonderful change from my crappy hogwon and I continue to be impressed by the professionalism exhibited at my new school. Everyone from the administration to the teachers, students and parents are a joy to work with!
I have meetings a few times a week which helps make sure that I use my downtime productively but it also means I have an idea whats going on in the school. I actually feel like a part of the team instead of an under-appreciated foreigner. One of my favorites was when the English program director and some other administration sat us down to talk about professional goals. Not just at our school but in life. So happy to be in a job where I have educator colleagues and mentors. I guess its probably a good time to start thinking about that Masters again.
Well for now I’ll just fill you in on how awesome my new gig is. My 36 students are amazing, I love them all, even the nose pickers. I’ve only got a handful with limited English and can have a conversation with most. That being said they still have a lot to learn and certainly aren’t fluent but they work harder than any students I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
I’m still getting used to my 4 block schedule but love my full block daily prep. By the end of the 2nd week I’d learned everyone’s name (although I do still mix up Hyun Jin and Jin Hyun among a few other tricky ones). We started actual academics and its great to teach actual math, social studies, reading and writing again. There were class elections followed by 6th grade elections for school president.
The long and short of it is I am teaching at an actual school and love it! (Have I said that enough?) Life in Korea has certainly taken a big upward turn with my new job. My new coworkers are a riot to hang out with and we’ve been exploring the new neighborhoods together. Tons of great food and drinks make our new friendships even stronger.
The only bad news is being so busy means I have less time to write about it and even less to edit everything! I hope there aren’t too many grammer mistakes in my most new post, as in this won that you are reeding rite now.
Goodnight for now.
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Reblogged this on English by Luka.
[…] In my last post I mentioned how awesome my new class is. That trend has continued! I also hinted at “missing a few walls;” well, that’s because I work in a 3-wall classroom (I’ll get some pictures up soon). Its reminiscent of my own elementary school experience but I find that it keeps 90% of my students more aware of how distracting they are and teaches them to focus with minor disturbances. […]